A typical server platform may utilize an external smart entity/unit (or multiple external entities/units) to manage functions of the platform via an interface to the management software of the platform, which may run on a remote computer or on processor(s) of the server platform. Here, the server platform can be but is not limited to a server, a network device, a network chip/controller, or other type of hardware device. The external entity is referred to as a baseboard management controller (BMC), which is a specialized service processor that monitors the physical state of the platform and communicates with the system management software of the platform through a network connection.
In some embodiments, the BMC is configured to communicate with the system management software over a local area network (LAN) over an interface defined under standards such as Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) protocol. In some embodiments, the BMC has a separate network interface to the LAN. In some alternative embodiments, the BMC shares the network interface with the platform being managed, referred to herein as in-band management. To facilitate the in-band management, some of the current generation of network chips provide a separate port to interface the BMC to the network other than the interface used by the network chips for the normal network traffic. In some embodiments, the interface to the BMC can be accomplished through a “Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI) configured to support network communication between the BMC and the system management software under in-band management.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.